When a signal is amplified it is increased in one of a number of ways. It may simply be louder - as when the sound of a musical instrument is picked up by a sound system. It may be more widely distributed, increased in effectiveness or extended from the specific to the general case or accomplished in a shorter period of time. In many cases, the signal to be amplified is masked by noise or blended in with other information. In these cases, amplification involves a selection of one signal from among many before it is enlarged. In the study of systems far from equilibrium, there are many examples of a small fluctuation taking place near a threshold which is amplified throughout the whole system resulting in a change in the state of the system. In management or regulation the objective of amplification is usually to increase the . manager's capability to handle the complexity generated by the operations under his or her control. This may be done by dividing tire operational variety into important and unimportant elements, by establishing rules and procedures, by instituting training programs or by augmenting the manager's individual abilities by using staff assistance, computers, statistical quality control or other frameworks for distilling the particular bits of data which count # SOURCE The word amplify comes from a Latin wont meaning to enlarge or extend. # EXAMPLES • the discussion of research results • the inclusion of events to be reported in the newspaper • the use of equipment to pick up and broadcast a signal • the process which occurs when a small fluctuation near a threshold or bifurcation point is carried throughout the system • advertising new products • conveying information in graphic as well as print form # NON-EXAMPLE • an attenuated signal conditioning a market to choose from a small number of alternatives managing at the detail level of an operation # PROBABLE ERROR • Choosing the wrong signal to amplify • Assuming that a change is due to a major force rather than to the amplification of a small change # SEE Attenuation; Channel Capacity; Algedonic Signal; V ariety